"Salt Tolerance and Crop Potential of Halophytes.", by Edward P. Glenn and J. Jed Brown. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 18(2):227-255 (1999).
| Salicornia bigelovii | Pickleweed, Glasswort, Xnaa Caaa | 2 tons of seed per hectare containing 28% oil and 31% protein. 70 g/l TDS (1.3M as NaCl, twice seawater salinity), succulent, annual. Used as lamb forage, and chicken feed (2% of total diet). Young sprouts <5 cm high can be used to garnish salad, seed contains bitter tasting saponins | Glenn et al., 1991, 1997, Lin et al., 1997, Swingle et al., 1996, Yensen N.P. |
| Beta vulgaris, Chenopodiaceae | Sugar Beet, Common Beet | Low salt tolerance (~5 g/l TDS) | Ayers and Wescott, 1989 |
| Phoenix dactylifera, Arecacea | Date Palm | Low salt tolerance (~5 g/l TDS) | Ayers and Wescott, 1989 |
| Hordeum vulgaris, Poaceae | Barley | Low salt tolerance (~5 g/l TDS) | Ayers and Wescott, 1989, Fricke at al., 1996 |
| Rice & Bean | Very low salt tolerance. Harmed by 20-50 mM NaCl | Greenway and Munns, 1980 | |
| Avicenia spp. | Black Mangroves | Excrete excess salt onto leaf surfaces | Popp et al., 1993 |
| Rhizophora spp. | Red Mangroves | Don't excrete salts. | Popp et al., 1993 |
| Aegelopsis, Triticeae | Salt tolerant relative of Wheat | Gorham and Wyn-Jones, 1993 | |
| Thinopyrum, Triticeae | Salt tolerant relative of Wheat | Gorham and Wyn-Jones, 1993 | |
| Hordeum maritimum | Sea oats | Related to barley, "It is a psammophile and occurs in sandy areas." | Aronson, 1989, Yensen N.P. |
| Lycopersicum (Lycopersicon?) cheesmanii | A wild, salt tolerant tomato, It is a xerophyte and occurs in dry areas. Not very edible fruit, but it has been crossed with a domesticated tomato with better tasting results, It is a xerophyte and occurs in dry areas. | Asins et al., 1993, Yensen N.P. | |
| Lycopersicum (Lycopersicon?) pimpinellifolum | A wild, salt tolerant tomato | Asins et al., 1993 | |
| Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima | Seabeet | Related to fodderbeet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris) | Rozema et al., 1993 |
| Triticum aestivum | Bread wheat | Some salt tolerance? | Dvorak et al., 1994 |
| Triticum turginsum | Duram wheat | Low salt tolerance | Dvorak et al., 1994 |
| Agropyrum | CommonName | Salt tolerant relative of wheat | Unknown |
| Triticum tauschii | Some salt tolerance | Schachtman et al., 1992 | |
| Spartina alterniflora | CommonName | Salt marsh grass, 40 t/ha of biomass, It tolerates greater than full -strength sea water (35,000 ppm or 47 dS/m) up to 58 dS/m. It may have some use as a forage | Bradley and Morris, 1991, Odum, 1974 |
| Leptochloa fusca | CommonName | Notes | Jeschke et al., 1995 |
| Sporobolus viginicus | CommonName | Notes | Blits and Gallagher, 1991, Marcum and Murdoch, 1992 |
| Plantago spp. | CommonName | Notes | Erdei and Kuiper, 1979, Bruggemann and Jahiesch, 1987, 1988, 1989 |
| Triglochin spp. | CommonName | Notes | Naidoo, 1994 |
| Helianthus annuus | Sunflower | Low salt tolerance <180 mM NaCl | Glenn and O'Leary, 1985, Ballesteros et al., 1997 |
| Phragmites australis | Common Reed | Low salt tolerance <180 mM NaCl | Glenn, 1987 |
| Atriplex canescens | xerohalophyte, adapted to both drought and salt stress. desert saltbush? | Glenn et al., 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997 | |
| Armeria maritima | Koehl, 1997a, 1997b | ||
| Salsola kali | Reimman and Breckle, 1995 | ||
| Atriplex isatidea | CommonName | Notes | Flowers and Dalmond, 1993 |
| Inula crithmoides | CommonName | Notes | Flowers and Dalmond, 1993 |
| Aster tripolium | CommonName | Notes | Zimmerman et al., 1992, Perera et al., 1994, 1995, 1997 |
| Suaeda maritima | CommonName | Succulent | Yeo and Flowers, 1986, Leach et al., 1990, Maathius et al., 1992, Clipson, 1996 |
| Atriplex nummularia | CommonName | Notes | Hassidim et al., 1990, Niu et al., 1996 |
| Plantago maritima | CommonName | Notes | Staal et al., 1991 |
| Atriplex gmelini | CommonName | Notes | Matoh et al., 1989 |
| Mesembryanthemum crystallinum | CommonName | Notes | Barkla et al., 1995, Low et al., 1996, Bohnert et al., 1995, Thomas and Bohnert, 1993 |
| Distichlis palmeri | CommonName | Perennial grass. Seeds were harvested by the Cocopa Indians of the Colorado River delta region. | Glenn and O'Leary, 1985, Felger, 1979, Yensen et al., 1988 |
| Batis maritima | CommonName | a prostrate, rhizomatous with succulent leaves | Glenn and O'Leary, 1985 |
| Distichlis spicata | CommonName | saltgrass | Gallagher, 1985 |
| Spartina patens | CommonName | Notes | Gallagher, 1985 |
| Atriplex triangularis | CommonName | potential fresh vegetable crop for human consumption | ??? |
| Inula crithomoides | CommonName | perennial bush | Zaruyk and Baalbaki, 1996 |
| Portulaca oleracea | CommonName | 7.4 t/ha per 3-week cutting interval | Grieve and Suarez, 1997 |
| Atriplex barclayana | CommonName | Used as sheep forage | Swingle et al., 1996 |
| Suaeda esteroa | CommonName | Used as sheep forage | Swingle et al., 1996 |
| Kosteletzkya virginica | CommonName | Perennial seashore mallow, oilseed | Gallagher, 1985, Poljakoff-Mayber et al., 1994 |
| Scientific Name | CommonName | Notes | References |
"...development of salt-tolerant crops through breeding...",
Epstein et al., 1980
"...domestication of wild halophytes...",
Somers, 1975,
Felger, 1979
Lists of potentially useful species:
Mudie, 1974,
Aronson, 1989,
National Research Council, 1990.
Field trials under irrigation:
Glenn et al., 1996,
Gallagher, 1985,
Pasternak and Nerd, 1995,
Pasternak and San Pietro, 1985.
Field trials under dryland conditions:
Malcom, 1996,
Le Houerou, 1996
"Additionally, halophytes can occaisonally contain oxalate levels in the
toxic range":
Le Houerou, 1996
Screening of species in field plots in costal desert Mexico:
Glenn and O'Leary, 1985
120 species in Israel:
Aronson et al., 1988
"Although some halophytes are traditional human foods",
Felger, 1979